Current Perspectives on Porgy and Bess by Randye Jones
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Current Perspectives on Porgy and Bess by Randye Jones The celebration of the 75th anniversary of George Gershwin's "folk opera" Porgy and Bess naturally presents the opportunity to assess how the opera is currently viewed. The opera has been marred by controversy over its history, especially regarding how Blacks have been characterized in its storyline. At the same time, however, Porgy and Bess has contributed significantly to the professional careers of numerous Black vocalists since its premiere in 1935 and is considered to be one of America's greatest operas. As part of an assessment of current attitudes, the author interviewed five American singers face-to-face or via email between May and July, 2010. The singers have performed in stage productions of Porgy and Bess and represent a diverse range in career length and variety of roles taken. Some of them have only performed in one production of Porgy and Bess, while others have toured with the opera extensively. All have been cast in European productions of the opera, yet only three have performed it on an American stage. The singers discussed their experiences with the opera and their views about it. They expressed strong opinions about the current restrictions observed in the United States that limit singing role assignments – soloists and chorus – to Blacks. They also speculated on whether lifting those restrictions would have an impact on vocal instructors, non-Black singers, and American opera companies. Tenor George Shirley made his debut with a small opera troupe at Woodstock, New York, as Eisenstein in their production of Die Fledermaus. He then journeyed to Italy and made his European debut as Rodolfo in La Boheme. In 1961, he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions by performing "Nessum dorma," beginning an eleven-year association with the house. While at the Met, he sang 28 different roles from 26 operas, especially those of Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Strauss and Wagner. Shirley received a Grammy Award in 1968 for singing the role Ferrando in the RCA recording of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He is currently Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Voice at the University of Michigan. Jones: Professor Shirley, I'd like to gauge your views of and experiences with the opera Porgy and Bess from your perspective as a singer and a teacher. How long have you been singing professionally? What made you decide to pursue that career? George Shirley Shirley: I began singing professionally in 1959 following 1½ years as a high school music teacher in Detroit and three years in the US Army as a member of the US Army Chorus in Washington, DC. I met a private teacher in DC who had had an operatic career in Europe and the US, and he convinced me I could have a career in opera. I decided to give it two years to see if it would work. He was right. Jones: In 1998, you sang the role of Sportin' Life for the first time in Bregenz, Austria, some 63 years after Porgy and Bess premiered. Had you sung any other roles or any arias from the opera prior to that point? If yes, please tell me about that past experience. Shirley: I may have sung one of Sportin' Life's arias for a birthday celebration concert honoring pianist William Duncan Allen; I seem to have a vague memory of that possibility. If that really did happen I believe it was the only time prior to the Bregenz performances. I had such a good time interpreting the role in Austria that I have now sung "It Ain't Necessarily So" a number of times. I had been offered the role back in 1965, but I turned it down because I knew I could do a memorable interpretation of Sportin' Life, but I didn't want to take a chance on the possibility that opera house managers would forget I could sing Rodolfo, Tamino, and other "standard" roles. I was well aware of the fact that black males hired for P&B rarely were considered for other roles for which they were qualified. Even though I was already at the Met, my cultural paranoia ruled on this issue, with the result that my first Sportin' Life performances came when I was 64 years old! I was told one of the Bregenz Festival artistic management team protested my age, but the director, conductor and General Manager of the Festival were supportive of my participation. My slogan became "There's no pimp like an old pimp..." Jones: Why did you decide to take the role of Sportin' Life for that production? Did you see any challenges from taking the role that were any different from those of any other roles you had accepted up to that point? Shirley: The Intendant of the Deutsche Oper, the late Götz Friedrich, contacted my manager with a request that I consider the role of Daddy Peter. I had sung in two other operas Friedrich had directed, so he knew my work. I declined his offer for Daddy Peter, but suggested Sportin' Life instead, and he bought it. I didn't see the role as more challenging than others I had sung; in fact, I found it easier because I had observed such personalities in my neighborhoods and schools during my youth in Detroit. It felt comfortable, like I was at home in the 'hood. Sportin' Life became an amalgam of a lot of sly tricksters I had seen hanging out at the Picket Fence Bar on Oakland Avenue around the corner from where I lived most of my youth. It was great fun to bring these guys to life in the weeds of "ol' Spo-tin-life," the archetype of Mephistopheles himself! Jones: How did you relate to Bess and the other characters in the opera? Shirley: Relating to the other characters was not a problem, for I could see them "first- hand." I could put a real face from my youth on each character without a struggle. There was a girl in junior high school who fit Bess perfectly. Porgy was one of my closest friends cruelly referred to by some as "Crip." Crown was every bully I'd ever known. Jones: What was the cast make up for that production? Were most singers imports from outside of Austria? What was the racial makeup of the cast, both the soloists and chorus? Shirley: To my knowledge, all cast members, save for those who portrayed the police, were Blacks. One Bess was from London, and I believe a number of singers were from the islands, and some Americans were resident in Europe. 2 Jones: How did the audience respond to the production? How did critics respond? How many performances were there? Shirley: Audience response was enthusiastic as was critical reaction. The public had rallied around the cast the year before when problems had arisen over housing and rehearsals. I wasn't in the first year run, but was told that serious issues had almost brought production to a halt. The clash between the basically American cast and the German director was a foregone conclusion. When the blowup hit the press before opening night, the Bregenz community responded with offers for better lodging, basically taking the singers' side. When I arrived to perform in the following season's production, there was great tension in the air before rehearsals began. One of Götz's assistants started rehearsals in Götz's absence,. When he finally showed up for rehearsals things were well underway, and he was quite subdued in relating to the cast. He was also suffering ill health that led to his decease two years later. Jones: Have you performed Sportin' Life or any other Porgy roles in a production or recording since the 1998 production? Have you programmed any of the arias in recital? Shirley: I've not performed the role again, but have on occasion sung the arias in concert – not recital – appearances or at convention banquets, e.g., The Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia and the National Opera Association Convention in Los Angeles. Jones: In the 12 years since the Austrian production, have your views about the opera changed? Shirley: No. I still feel it to be the greatest American opera written to this point. It, like Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci, captures the raw side of life with a powerful story and memorable music. To those who are uncomfortable with how Blacks are portrayed in P&B I say that I understand the discomfort, given the history of stereotyping we have had to deal with. But I am much more uncomfortable with the images I see almost daily of Blacks on television in what passes for contemporary black life in films, etc. Jamie Foxx's performance for the Oscars this year was a case in point. Foxx is a brilliant performer, but why he had to do what amounted to a minstrel show was beyond me, and I found it much more offensive than anything in P&B! Jones: The Gershwin Family has placed restrictions on performance of staged productions, requiring singing roles be assigned to Black singers. Do you believe this has affected whether a singer chooses to learn roles from the opera? In what ways? Shirley: P&B has provided countless black singers with an avenue for showcasing their operatic talents. If the casting hadn't been restricted to Blacks, Whites would have jumped at the chance to perform these great roles, some out of a legitimate desire to do them justice, and others to make of them a minstrel show.